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Portable TVs at CES. This is one of those ideas that seem pretty crazy to me. That said, in technology things rarely shake out as they first appear.

The concept here is the portable television, weighing from 5 to 12 pounds, that you carry from room to room or …. wherever so you don’t miss a minute of your show.

This is an interesting contrast with the much more prevalent concept here of a connected home where WIFI allows you to stream TV all over the house. In that scenario you’ll keep the TVs in place but have one in every room.

As this indicates, we’re a LONG way from true convergence, where the devices all integrate in a more robust fashion.

Seems that a *smart phone*, a small tablet or notebook/ultrabook computer, and a nice TV seem to be becoming the key indispensable devices to own. I’m thinkig we can probably manage three things successfully even as many innovators seem to believe we need full convergence where those devices, plus many others in our lives, communicate in real time all the time. More on that later…

Surface Computing at CES. It’s been around for some time, but like touchscreen technology (which took decades to become mainstream), surface computing will be commonplace in the near future. I’m not clear if these coffee tables are ready for market but I think its just a matter of time. These use the Microsoft surface computing application and would seem to be ideal for things like TV navigation, slide shows, and more.

As a cheap car guy it’s hard for me to get too excited, even about a very beautiful auto like this, but the technologies involved are very impressive, even as they are arguably not very scalable to the mass market yet. For example the roof is a solar panel that adds about 200 miles of range per year to the vehicle. The Fisker can only travel about 50 miles on a single charge but also has a gasoline assist which boosts the range to hundreds of miles. Since most travel is in the form of short commutes it does appear the Fisker would work fine for urban commuters. Others will effectively be using the gas assist (which does NOT run the engine, rather it charges the battery to run the engine).

Samsung’s out in full force at CES 2012 with some good technology combined with great promotional power. “Blogger buddies” are roaming around the show inviting press to the Samsung blog lounge.

Here, a street artist creates a charicature using a galaxy tablet, which is then printed or placed on a t-shirt as a giveaway. Line was too long for me to do this but I enjoyed some coffee at the espresso bar.

Although I haven’t had a chance to compare other models yet, the Samsung high end notebooks are very impressive – comparable (and clearly designed to compete with) the Macbook Air, perhaps stronger in some features. The Samsung Ultrabook line is also powerful but at much lower price point they don’t have the same “wow” factor of the slim notebooks. More on all this later.

I’m a big fan of Showstoppers so here’s a preview of the companies we’ll see there tonight at one of CES very best events. Showstoppers showcases several companies at a tasty dinner event at the Wynn.

These are often those that don’t have a huge presence othewise.

—— Press Release —–

Fisker cranks up the amps with the first public appearance of the Karma electric sedan since deliveries began in December. Raytheon and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are bringing a patrol car to demonstrate laptop computer technologies that enable deputies to investigate crime scenes, chase down suspects and answer calls for help faster.

Here’s a quick look at just some of what’s coming from 120+ exhibiting companies:

3D tools for configuring dream homes, from Blu Homes.

A look ahead at smart and dumb entertainment devices, from Boxee.

It’s not grandma’s sewing machine – but it comes from Brother.

A preview of Cadillac’s revolutionary in-vehicle data and entertainment system.

Flight delays are keeping me from CES 2012 until later this afternoon so the least I can do is link out to the many great folks covering this conference. CES is one of the most reported technology events in the world with some … wait for it … 6000 press folks, analysts, and bloggers reporting on the CES showcased technologies. There’s been a fair amount of buzz about Microsoft’s “final” keynote at this year’s CES 2012, but my guess is that this conference will continue to be one of the world’s dominant forces in technology promotion for many years to come.

One of the cool parts of the CES experience are the celebrities who appear at the show in both officially as representatives for companies or informally as technophiles. I’m a big fan of LeVar Burton’s work in Star Trek as well as the PBS “Reading Rainbow” series I used to watch with my kids, so it was great to meet him in person at a blogger party during CES 2010. Brent Spiner was also at the excellent “It Won’t Stay in Vegas” party thrown every year by the Parnassus Group. http://parnassusgroup.com/

The VERY popular iPhone 5 video is a hoax, but it’s still worth watching. Although this is not a concept phone as suggested, the “laser keyboard” and “holographic screen” technologies are not necessarily out of reach in the near future.

The CES Innovation Power Panel happens at 9am on January 11 in the Las Vegas Hilton Theater. The panel will feature three top American CEOs who will discuss the roles that innovation has played in the success of their respective companies.

At the 2009 CES Mulally impressed the crowd with Ford’s technology and forward looking corporate world view. I asked him then if Ford would be “needing bailout money” and he answered that he didn’t think so. Impressively, Ford never did take any bailout money. In fact some sources suggest that Mulally recently had pressure from no less than the President Obama to pull an advertisement that mentioned how the other car makers took bailout money. The format was the Ford “press conference” where a Ford buyer mentions he did not want to buy a “bailout” money car. Here’s more on that issue: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/27/ford-yanks-bailout-ad-amidst-controversy-w-video/

Biographies of the Innovation Panel CEOs at CES 2012 from CES Website.

Ursula Burns, chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation, has been with Xerox since 1980. She began her career with the company as a mechanical engineering summer intern before working her way up to lead various organizations including Xerox’s global research as well as product development, marketing and delivery. She was named CEO in July 2009 and has since been instrumental in driving the acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services, which has transformed Xerox into the world’s leading enterprise for business process and document management. Burns has been recognized for her leadership by both Fortune and Forbes magazine’s “Most Powerful Women” lists. Also, under Ursula’s watch Xerox has been named to Bloomberg Businessweek’s “The World’s 25 Most Inventive Companies.”

Lowell McAdam was named president and CEO of Verizon Communications in August 2011, having previously served as the company’s president and COO. He also held key executive positions at Verizon Wireless since its inception in 2000, and built the company into the industry’s leading wireless provider, with the nation’s largest, most reliable wireless voice and 4G broadband data network. Additionally, he has served as vice president of international operations for AirTouch Communications. McAdam currently serves as chairman of the Verizon Wireless Board of Representatives, and on the board of directors of Verizon Communications.

Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, joined Ford in 2006, after serving as executive vice president of The Boeing Company and president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. He is known for his innovative and focused industry leadership, while working to transform Ford into a lean, global enterprise. He has served as a past president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and is a former president of its Foundation. Mulally was named Chief Executive Magazine’s “CEO of the Year” in 2011, “Businessperson of the Year” by the readers of Fortune Magazine in 2010, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2009 and “Person of the Year” in 2006 by Aviation Week magazine.